Professional women tend to interpret sex discrimination as a result of victimization against an individual rather than an assault against a minority group. A total of 140 women in engineering, science, and management completed a forced-choice questionnaire concerning the personal and professional treatment of women subjects by male and female professionals. Specific areas addressed included the informal division of daily management responsibilities, the allocation of power and opportunity as reflected in job assignments, and types and frequency of sexual harassment. The majority of women surveyed failed to acknowledge sexism as debilitating. Specifically, they believed that social and legal remedies for sex discrimination have been achieved. Most felt they avoided discrimination by being professional, becoming "one of the boys," and displaying a sense of humor about women's jokes. The achievement of equality for any group is contingent upon the recognition that the group as a whole is the object of discrimination and an understanding of the objective, ideological, and institutional character of oppression. However, the women surveyed held none of these perceptions and firmly denied the minority group status of women. (Author/KC)

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